Managing Project Effectiveness and Uncertainty

This assignment delves into the complexities of project management, focusing on the challenges of undefined goals, inadequate skills, and uncertainty. It presents a range of references from academic journals and books, highlighting key drivers of effectiveness in managing multiple projects. The assignment is ideal for students seeking to understand the intricacies of project management and risk assessment.

Managing Projects Assessment

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Characteristics of a project: ........................................................................................................3
Scope statement for a project:.....................................................................................................4
Gantt chart...................................................................................................................................4
Project budget..............................................................................................................................4
Responses to risk.........................................................................................................................4
Quality methods..........................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
Skills and competencies required by project team......................................................................5
Project management cycle...........................................................................................................7
Leadership...................................................................................................................................8
Administration and control problems........................................................................................10
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Project refers to amalgamation of different actions used by groups of individual or
company to achieve their pre set goals and objectives (Thamhain, 2013). To make the project
successfully implemented on the real scenario, project management approach is used. It starts
from initiating, planning, executing the project and ends at closing it before the deadlines so to
achieve specific goals and target. In the first task project will be assessed from many aspects like
characteristics, scope statement and according to that Gantt chart will be made. Then hotel
communications ltd will be taken for considerations and how they are using different types of
models and frameworks to implement it is defined. Leadership styles and its efficiency on
different scenario will be explain with the help of case study examples.
TASK 1
Characteristics of a project:
A project is transient in that it has a characterized occurrence and end in time, and hence defines
scope and resources of an organisation. Here, the project is Installing VR systems in hotel, so
that the customers will be able to access the view of the hotel from their home. Characteristics of
a project defines scope, resource, quality, time and risk involved.
 Scope- It leads to the basic introduction of the project and describes the areas that will be
covered through the implementation of it. VR installations will cover the customer base
and will deliver facts with utmost transparency.
 Resource- It aids in accomplishing the basic requirements for the desired scope from the
project. Man-force will be requires to implement the project with proper guidance of
technical staff.
 Quality- Defines the set of standards on a project to enhance the effective and efficient
progress of work (Basu, 2014). The installation of VR system in hotels should be
delivered with the qualities that is essential for it to deliver the services in desired
manner.
 Time- Design a structure for execution of particular tasks at a certain time. The
implementation of the project should be planned at a proper time to hit the market. The
time VR installations in hotel will take around 1 month to check its proper functioning.

 Risks- States in advance about the risk involved or which may occur during the course of
action. As, the installation of VR systems in hotel is a new concept there are chances that
customers will accept it or not, the quality will match up to the level or not. Other risks
involved in the project includes costs risk, schedule risk, performance risk, strategic risk,
market risk. All these risks are managed by project manager by using effective tools and
methods.
Scope statement for a project:
Scope statement is used in confirming the anticipated outcome of the project by the
project managers. The scope statement should be a collective statement by the entire work force
involved in project. A project scope statement is basically a agreement between the team, clients
and stakeholders who are involved in the procedure of developing a project. Scope statement is
of importance to the project because it defines the objectives of the VR implementation in the
hotel. It will help in measuring the success criteria by including the list of the users and their
feedbacks regarding the importance of the VR in experiencing the hotel.
Gantt chart
Gantt chart is a representation of the project with help of horizontal and vertical axis. In
which, horizontal axis represents the time span and vertical axis represents the task of the
respective project (Bloch, Blumberg and Laartz, 2012). It took around 1 month to complete the
stated project.

Project budget
A tool which is used by the project manager to calculate the total cost of the project.
Project budget is of a dynamic nature which has to be continuously modify during the course of
the project. While developing a budget report for implementation of VR in hotels the costs which
will come into consideration are labour, material and operating costs.
Responses to risk
Responses to risk involves planning and determining ways to eliminate the threats which
can occur in a project and also helps in increasing their impact (Ehrler and et. al., 2012).
Responses to risk is a task of project managers in which they should work to eradicate the risks
before they affect the progress of the project. Implementation of VR involves costs risk, schedule
risk, performance risk, strategic risk, market risk. These all should be properly addressed by the
project manager to ensure the effective implementation of VR into the hotel. Proper quality
methods such as project evaluation should be implemented at the time of installations of the VR
systems in order to eliminate the risk.
Quality methods
Quality methods are used to measure the quality and effectivenees of the products or
services which are to be offered to the customers are up to mark or not. Project manager is
responsible to carry the task of quality check while the process of implementing the project is
ongoing. Quality methods involves project evaluation, monitoring and controlling.
 Project evaluation- This method involves a organized and subjective assessment of the
project which is in its process or is completed (Boz and El-adaway, 2013). The main aim
is to check the relevance of the objectives which the project carries. While implementing
VR into hotels the project manager should evaluate the process properly regarding its
desired objectives, the outreach of the product to the customers, marketing schemes for
the new service. It will help the hotel management to analyse the changes within their
community among the customers. And will also aid in the implementations of the future
projects.
 Monitoring- this method is to monitor the project as the process starts. It is a process of
following, assessing and regulating the progress to achieve the desired objective. While
implementation of VR in hotel a project manager should monitor the actual action of the

process in comparison to the planned actions. A proper time base should be concerned
for the project output and proper scope statements till its completion.
 Controlling- it is one of the most important methods of ensuring quality for a project. It
involves controlling each activity which is involved in the project. For, instance
implementation of VR in hotel process is controlled by the project manager in a way to
oversight the plans and to ensure that the plans should be followed in the desired set of
actions. If any deviations found, then control measures will be taken by manager to
ensure that project is completed successfully.
TASK 2
According to the case study, city towers is launching their new hotel chain in docklands
area of London and IT products responsibility like CCTV, TV, radios, software for marketing
and bookings etc have been outsourced from company called hotel communications Ltd. So to
make the project successful, different types of models and strategy would be used by the project
manager which is elaborated below:
Skills and competencies required by project team
Skills which are already acquired by team members and project manager assist them to
work with their highest potential so to ensure high quality of work and successful delivery of
projects to the clients (Aloini, Dulmin and Mininno, 2012). Leaders and team members should
have project management skills which is necessary for them to complete the task in given
deadline. Various skills which should be there in a whole team is given below,
 Communication: It is one of the core competencies which a group should have to
complete their project with full professionalism (Franks, 2012). Open communication is
required in the team so that two way communication would be achieve. For instance, at
the time of any critical situations, leader should take opinions of other while taking any
decision as it would make a positive impact on the efficiency of employees which will
persuade to higher efficiency and productivity.
 Problem solving: Group can only attain its objectives and goals if they would able to
solve the problem which could be arise in the future. For solving problem, various skills
which is required are as follows, open communication, expertise in the subject,

innovative thinking etc. Group should be able to continuously scan the problem which
can affect their working productivity and how they can tackle it.
 Time management: It refers to ability of managing work and time according to the
priority assigned to it. It would assist team members to complete their work before
deadline so to enhance the client experience engagement to a certain level. To accomplish
this members should be equipped with various skills like goal setting, self motivation,
planning, decision making etc.
 Leadership: Leader is an essential part of the group in which their work is to manage the
teams so to maximize overall productivity of group by assigning work according to the
skills and capabilities of team members (Reiss and Rayner, 2012). Manager should have
a strategic as well as operational knowledge of work assigned to their team so that
hurdles or obstacles coming in the way of team members would be reduce or removed.
Besides that individual should be equipped with different types of leadership styles so
that they can modify it according to the requirements of the project.
Above mentioned are the skills and competencies that are required by project team in
order to carrying out activities involved in project effectively and successfully completion of
project.
For instance, project manager should make various small teams like purchase team( for
buying TV, CCTV, RADIO), IT team( for making booking platform), customer support
team( for contacting to different vendors) etc so that whole task would be divided into smaller
parts.
Project management cycle
Completion of project is an hard task as there are many problems which would arise
while working. To make this simpler, whole project is divided into smaller parts which is
explained below with functional example of the case study.
 Initiation: It is the first step of process in which all the information which is required to
complete the project will be collected (Wang and Yang, 2012). Main motto of this task is
to cover every aspect so that feasibility of the task will be evaluated. For instance, project
manager responsibility is to collect the details like cost of appliances required, workforce
required with skills, time taken to complete the task, list of vendors etc.

 Planning: It refers to blue print of the actions which should be done to accomplished the
assigned task. Different type of questions which would be achieved in this stage is as
follow, scope of the project, cost estimations, quality of product etc. This step is most
important as if it gets wrong then there would be negative impact on the completion of
task. For example, project manager will make the task and set their priority according to
the demand, as if CCTV is required within 5 weeks then purchase team would start
purchasing the equipment and give to the installed team so that work would be
completed before 5 weeks.
 Execution: In this phase, planning has been done collectively by team and now they have
to decide that how the work would be completed. Proper communication between the
manager and team members should be there so that ambiguity of roles will decrease.
Project manager have already distributed roles and responsibilities according to their
skills and now they have to work with the instructions given to them so that no problem
would be arise while working.
 Control: At this time project has reached the stage in which everything is clear in the
mind of team members and now its leader responsibility to controlled and validate steps
which are taken by the members. Knowledge and expertise plays an important role in this
stage as various kind of complex problems would be arise and its their responsibility to
solve it without affecting their productivity and efficiency (Kendrick, 2015). For instance,
if IT team is not considering all the requirements given by the city towers at the time of
making bookings sites then its manager authority to make their actions validate and
accurate. Or in other situations if purchase team is buying TV and radio which has low
price and low quality then its their liability is to inspect it and if found faulty then hard-
and-fast actions should be taken against the quality checking team.
 Closing: This is the last stage of project management in which project is given to the
client and close the project. For instance different type of actions which will be done in
this step is given below,
◦ Documentation regarding the whole project.
◦ Settlements of payments to the vendor and city towers.
◦ Clearing out the salary of employees working in team etc.

Leadership
Leadership styles
Leadership styles are the way that leader uses as a power to lead and guide other
employees or teams in the organisation. Leader uses various styles for managing a project in an
organisation and they are discussed below:
 Autocratic leadership style: In this leadership, leader hold the entire power,
responsibilities and authority (Tsai and et. al., 2014). Leaders take decisions on their own
without taking advices, suggestions or discussions from the subordinates. They uses this
style when quick decisions and response are needed for the project.
 Democratic leadership style: In this type of leadership styles, subordinates takes part in
decision making process. Leader shares information and ideas with employees and take
their suggestions and advices. The most unique feature of this style is that
communication is upward and downward with effective transmission of information
about a particular task. For instance, if project manager is taking any decision regarding
the design of meetings rooms and conferences then opinions of their employees should be
taken. It would also help them to motivate.
 Transformational leadership style: This type of leadership enhances changes in
individual, group or organisation (Bond and et. al., 2015). Leaders in this styles,
motivates others to do more then their potential. They set more challenging expectations
and accomplishes higher performances for a task assigned.
 Charismatic leadership style: In this leadership style, leader evident their radical power.
It pertains to alteration of followers values and beliefs. However, this is considered
usually unfavourable because the success and growth of the project is closely connected
with the presence of leader.
For this project, Transformational leadership style is most appropriate for this project as
then only team productivity and efficiency would increase to its maximum.
Leadership skills

All good leaders require a number of soft skills to help them positively interact with
employees and teams (Rose and Schlichter, 2013). Leadership skills are very necessary for
efficiently and effectively accomplishing the task and there are numerous styles discussed below:
 Effective communication: Leader must communicate effectively with their employees
and sub ordinates so that they will be clear with the mission and vision of the
organisation. Leader will also act as link between the top management and lower
management for communicating the problems of lower management to the top executives
and for clarifying the rules and procedures set by executives to the lower management.
For instance, manager of hotel communications Ltd should make regular contact with the
city tower hotel so all the information which is required to complete the task will be
conveyed to them.
 Motivation skills: Leader must always motivate their staff and teams because motivation
is very important for effectively accomplishing the assigned task. Leader can motivate
their employees either financially which includes rewards, incentives, etc. or non
financially which includes attention, respect, promotion, enrichment, etc (Pasian,
Sankaran and Boydell, 2012). If members working for this project is motivated then it
will increase overall productivity of team.
 Training: Leader is responsible for providing and channelising proper training and
guidance to their employees and teams. Training and guidance is necessary so that people
know what task they have to perform and how they have to complete those assigned
work. It is also important because of developing techniques of working like updated
software, technologies, etc. and it can be provided in variety of forms like coaching, on
the job training, presentations, seminars, etc. Project Manager should give training to
their employees if they are having difficulties while doing their part as even single person
can decrease the performance of team.
 Innovative: Leader must always enhance innovative and creative thinking in their
employees and teams. Innovative leader will always provide new ways of working and
thinking. It will aspire the employees and they will work with new ideas and methods.

All the mentioned styles of leadership and skills should be there in project manager to
perform with their highest potential and achieve pre set goals and objectives within the assigned
deadline.
Administration and control problems
Project management life cycle is made up of different steps like initiation, planning,
execution, control and closing (Opelt and et. al., 2013). All the steps are important in their own
sense for instance if planning is not done properly then steps taken to attain the goals would get
wrong. Besides this, all the stages should be properly attained as if project starts from the
execution rather than from initiations then mistakes would be made and whole task will fall apart
in disorganised manner. Different types of problem which could be faced while completing this
task is given below,
Unidentified goals: Goals assist teams to set their direction of working so that it would
attain in less time and higher productivity (Basu, 2017). Its project manager responsibility to set
the clearer goals in the initiation process by communicating with the client. If team members
have clear objectives in their mind then it would also assist them to work with higher
productivity and potential. For instances, if purchasing team has no idea about the number of
CCTV cameras they are going to install in city towers then their existence in the team is of no
use.
Inadequate competencies: Skills assist individual to make their work differentiate from
one who does not have it. If team members are not equipped with proper skills and capabilities
then it would be harder for them to complete the task within a given deadline. This could be
reduce or remove if proper training is given to the employees. For instance, if company wants to
make their booking site on Java language but coder has knowledge about PHP language then it is
of no use. Manager should asses it already and recruit the individual who has knowledge about
Java or training could be given to them to inculcate skills.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that planning is the most important phase in
the project management process as it sets the direction for the team so to achieve the common
purpose. Leader or project manager should have different types of skills like time management,
communications, problem solving skills, motivation etc. as then only team will work with their

maximum potential. Leader should be equipped with different types of leadership styles like
participative, autocratic, democratic etc. as it would help employees to achieve their goals. At the
time of working on a project problems like undefined goals, inadequate skills in employees etc.
will be faced by manager and then only their effectiveness would be tested.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aloini, D., Dulmin, R. and Mininno, V., 2012. Risk assessment in ERP projects. Information
Systems. 37(3). pp.183-199.
Basu, R., 2014. Managing quality in projects: An empirical study. International journal of
project management. 32(1). pp.178-187.
Basu, R., 2017. Managing Quality in Projects. Routledge.
Bloch, M., Blumberg, S. and Laartz, J., 2012. Delivering large-scale IT projects on time, on
budget, and on value. Harvard Business Review.
Bond and et. al., 2015. Managing uncertainty, ambiguity and ignorance in impact assessment by
embedding evolutionary resilience, participatory modelling and adaptive management.
Journal of environmental management.151. pp.97-104.
Boz, M. A. and El-adaway, I. H., 2013. Managing sustainability assessment of civil
infrastructure projects using work, nature, and flow. Journal of Management in
Engineering. 30(5). p.04014019.
Ehrler and et. al., 2012. Managing resources for projects. U.S. Patent 8,335,705.
Franks, D., 2012. Social impact assessment of resource projects. International Mining for
Development Centre. 3.
Kendrick, T., 2015. Identifying and managing project risk: essential tools for failure-proofing
your project. Amacom.
Opelt and et. al., 2013. Agile contracts: creating and managing successful projects with Scrum.
John Wiley & Sons.
Pasian, B., Sankaran, S. and Boydell, S., 2012. Project management maturity: a critical analysis
of existing and emergent factors. International Journal of Managing Projects in
Business. 5(1). pp.146-157.
Patanakul, P., 2013. Key drivers of effectiveness in managing a group of multiple projects. IEEE
Transactions on Engineering Management. 60(1). pp.4-17.
Reiss, G. and Rayner, P., 2012. Portfolio and programme management demystified: managing
multiple projects successfully. Routledge.
Rose, J. and Schlichter, B. R., 2013. Decoupling, re‐engaging: managing trust relationships in
implementation projects. Information Systems Journal. 23(1). pp.5-33.
Thamhain, H., 2013. Managing risks in complex projects. Project management journal. 44(2).
pp.20-35.
Tsai and et. al., 2014. An Activity-Based Costing decision model for life cycle assessment in
green building projects. European Journal of Operational Research. 238(2). pp.607-
619.
Wang, J. and Yang, C.Y., 2012. Flexibility planning for managing R&D projects under risk.
International Journal of Production Economics. 135(2). pp.823-831.